Glass Cookware Explodes

Lids On Wolfgang Puck Pans Spontaneously Shatter

There could be an accident waiting to happen in your kitchen. Glass lids spontaneously exploding, sending shards of glass across the room.

A Colorado woman says it has happened to her twice and the Call7 Investigators found the cookware endorsed by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck still for sale in Denver area stores.

"It just explodes," said June Thompson, a Loveland artist, mother and grandmother.

The loud pop frightened both Thompson and her husband, who were in another room.

"I describe it as the sound of a gun going off," she said.

Thompson was unloading her dishwasher when she said the lid to her sauce pan shattered.

The Thompsons were so shocked, they took pictures.

"Nothing had touched it. It had not tipped or anything. It just literally exploded and there was glass clear on the other side of the cupboard peninsula," she said.

The Thompson's said they purchased their Wolfgang Puck cookware at Sam's Club about five years ago. The Call7 Investigators found the cookware still being sold at a Denver area Sams Club this week with no warning of a risk of the glass lids exploding.

"I've washed them many times in the dishwasher," said Thompson.

She said she usually waits until morning to unload the dishes so they are cool.

"It was just little slivers. I couldn't help but instantly think, What if a little child had been on the kitchen floor?"

Thompson's mind immediately went to her grandson.

"What if Henry had been here on the floor? It would have been disastrous. And my husband says, What if youd been bent over there like you were seconds before? It could have been disastrous for you!" Thompson said.

It was not the first time this had happened to their family.

I had an egg dish I wanted to keep warm for my family," said Thompson.

She said a much larger lid shattered while warming in the oven 2 years ago.

She thought it was a random incident.

"When I went to pull it out, boom, all over the oven, in the skillet, all over the floor once again," she said.

The Call7 Investigators found complaints about the shattering lids on the Wolfgang Puck cook set online, on the Web sites epinions.com and Amazon.com.

The cookware is also sold online at Sams Club, Kohls and bestbrandsclub.com.

The Call7 Investigators did not find a recall or any official warning from the manufacturer about the risk of exploding lids.

Thompson said she is not waiting on one.

"Now I'm afraid to keep the lids in use," she said.

Thompson said she received a stainless steel replacement lid from "W.P. Productions," the company that distributes the cookware made in China.

At Sam's Club, member satisfaction is a top priority, and most products have a 100% satisfaction guarantee regardless of the product's age. I would also like to assure you that we don't take our members' safety lightly. These pans go through rigorous testing, and the lids are made with tempered glass, which reduces risk of injury if the glass is broken. I have reached out to the member to help her understand our return policy and the product. The issue has now been rectified.